Frequency of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) in Korean patients with chronic HCV infection

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in innate immunity, especially in theresponse to viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV). Killer cell immunoglobulin-likereceptors (KIRs) are the primary receptors of NK cells that mediate innate immunity. KIRsare also involved in acquired immunity, because some KIRs are expressed on the surface ofcertain subsets of T cells. In this study, the frequency of KIR genes, HLA-C allotypes, andcombinations of KIR genes with their HLA-C ligands were evaluated in two different groupsof the Korean population: controls and patients with chronic HCV infection. The studypopulation consisted of 147 Korean patients with chronic HCV infection. The frequency ofKIR2DS2 in patients with chronic HCV infection was 9.5% which was significantly lowerthan 19.5% of the control (P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences inthe frequency of other KIR genes, HLA-C allotypes or different combinations of KIR geneswith their HLA-C ligands. This study can contribute to the further prospective study with alarger scale, suggesting the assumption that KIR2DS2 might aid in HCV clearance byenhancing both the innate and acquired immune responses of people in Korea.